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Problem with my mini Strider Buck spear point.

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I got this knife last week off of knifecenter.com. My problem is what I feel to be excessive play in the blade during lock up. When locked open if you put pressure on the back of the blade it moves forward about a half millimeter. I would describe this as a spongy feel. It is easy to see the movement when looking at the aligned grooves cut into the back of the blade and the liner. There is also some side to side play in the blade but not as bad.

Overall I like the knife. It is very stout. At first it was very hard to open and close but working it and flicking it have really made it easy to operate.

I had a great deal of difficulity getting it to clip into my pants pocket. Both a very strong clip and very grippy scales on the G10 made this very hard. I had to lift the clip to stretch it a little to get it onto my pocket. I like this though because I know it will stay put when clipped on.

One other small problem that would bother me if I was a collector (but I'm not). The right side of the blade rubs the liner lock when it closes. Just normal opening and closing has worn the right side center ridge shiny.

The last thing that is worth noting. The last 5mm of the tip on the right side has a couple of permanent stains that are darker than the surrounding steel. I don't know what could have caused this unless it is an impurity in the steel or someone spilled or splashed something on it. This isn't so important though because it is intended to be a working knife.

I lost my warranty card that came with it from Buck. I think my wife inadvertantly tossed it. So I'm not sure what I should do. I'm not sure if it should be replaced or if it is fixable.

This kind of has me bummed because I have wanted to buy a SNG and my wife just said she would not mind if I spent $400 on one. It has put a doubt in my mind with reguards to Strider's quality. Maybe it is more Bucks problem but it does have the Strider name on it too.

What really is a disappointment is I totally expected this knife to lock up like a bank vault. I have a Buck, a Kershaw and a couple of CRKTs that are a lot tighter than this. Do you think I got a friday afternoon knife or can I expect the same from another if I exchange it. I would like to avoid breaking another one of these in if possible because it really was very rough on the hands.

I would say you got a Friday afternoon version. They lockup very solid in my experience.

And I wouldn't call Strider. Sure their names on it, but all they did was give Buck the design and the rights to build and sell it. They do not have anything to do with building or servicing it.

I would give Knifecenter a call first and see if they would be willing to exchange it. I'm not really sure what their response would be, but I would bet that they would be inclined to send it in to Buck for warranty repairs because they could no longer sell it as new. Even if it still looks new, you have stated and I think it would be obvious that it has been "broken in".

If Knifecenter won't exchange it you will probably need to send it to Buck yourself with or without the warranty card (I don't think it will really make a big difference) and see what they can do. I know it's a bummer to send in a brand new knife, but it shouldn't be much more than a week or so before you get it back.

I know both Joe Houser, Director of Consumer Relations, and Jeff Hubbard, Quality Supervisor, at Buck, both read and contribute to this forum regularly. I have also had pesonal experiences with both and I KNOW they will stand behind the knife. Give them a chance to read your post and respond - keep in mind this is now Saturday night. Joe is the moderator for this forum and you can email him direct with your situtation by clicking on his name at the top of the page.

I personally wouldn't bother contacting KnifeCenter as they would have to contact BUCK, involving more people and more time, and as stated, Strider didin't make the knife, Buck did, so I wouldn't seek any action from them either. Buck has the best Customer Service reputatution in the business - give them a chance to make it right and I'm sure they will.

BTW - I wouldn't worry about not having the Warranty Card - its a BUCK!!!

Similar problem

I just got the full-size spearpoint from a seller on Ebay, and I have a similar problem. The locking part of the liner travels as far as its bend will take it (often pressing against the bushing on the opposite side of the handle), but it is "loose"...too much material is ground from either the back of the blade or the liner lock, or the pivot is miscentered. I've adjusted the blade pivot back and forth a bit, but there's play in the lock no matter where it catches.

From what I'm hearing here, I should just send it back to Buck. I'm not happy that I'm going to be out a few weeks and a few dollars to get a brand-new knife fixed, when even a cursory QA or function inspection should have caught it at the factory.

I had this happen on a Strider/Buck 880 Tanto full size.
Upon opening it, after taking it from the box, I noticed excessive blade play up and down when locked open. The liner and back of the blade did not mate right. The liner was also waaayyy over to the right. I just exchanged it for one that had a super solid lock up.

I just exchanged it right then. I knew it was not a perfect version. Might have been a Friday build as another member stated.

I would go through knifecenter, I read in your post that you used it a bit don't know what knifecenters stand will be on that.

If you don't get results there contact Buck directly they are great and my experience has been good with the customer service department.

The lock up on all of my Buck/Striders is super solid I have been carrying a BU880 SP Spear Point for well over a year and a half now and although the G-10 is very worn the blade is beat to hell but razor sharp after sharpening on my spyderco, the lock bar is centered on the blade when open and there is zero play, thats after a full year of chopping, cutting thick card board, and various other tasks. I now alternate between the Tanto and Spear Point full size Buck/Striders.

Kimberholic, I got to go through a dozen Buck Strider Tantos at my dealer untill I found one that did not have excessive blade play. OK knife, but after carrying it a while, in my pants pocket, the blade would walk open a bit and I ended up slicing my thumb because of it. Brought this out on the Strider forum and was told to call Buck! Strider puts their name on the knife but that's not worth anything. My advice, skip the SNG and buy a Terzuola for the same money and you will have a real knife! Mick's even posting how to break in the SNG so it will function properly and even saying that's part of the "fun" of owning a Strider!

Looks like a few questions to be answered here!
In my experience with the Strider/Buck knives, i have seen a few come back for various problems. without insulting anyone (hopefully) a large majority of them were not really problems with the manufacture of the knife but actually an aspect of the knife that the particular user did not like. The roughness of the g-10 sides is an example of this. Strider designed it like that for a specific reason, it is not a defect, it was made that way for a reason.
Of the knives returned because excessive pressure on the back of the blade caused blade play up and down, this can be remedied by using the knfe sharp side down, it cuts much better that way. If you apply enough pressure to the back of the blade, you will flex the liner causing up and down play. You can actually see the liner flex ever so slightly.

I have gotten some back though where there was an issue with up and down play in the blade, and it was fixed with a new liner. What it boils down to is if you feel your knife really does have an issue, send it in and we will gladly fix it under warrantee.
I hope this helps,

Update

I mailed this knife to Buck today for the excessive blade play to be fixed. I don't know if they intend to fix or replace the knife. I would prefer a fix simply because it is almost broken in and I don't necessarily look forward to doing that again.

As for the the advice on using the blade, sharp side down. That is a good point, but the knife is a spear point and may also be used to puncture. When puncturing with the knife if the angle of entry is not perfectly 90 degrees then force could be exerted down on the blade and the liner lock. In this respect it is comforting for your folding knife to have a solid lockup, since your fingers can not be replaced.

My full size tanto had some play when i first got it, I fixed it by tightening the screw with a torx screwdriver. I have found a good compromise between tight lock up and being able to flick the knife open, so I'm happy now.

Also the harder you open the knife, the tighter it locks. If you flick it open hard, the lock will make it further across the blade and lock it up much better. But then the lock becomes harder to disengage with the thumb.

Got it back

I got my folding spearpoint back this week. Buck (with Joe as their pointman) took care of it. The lock is great now -- it engages the blade fully, but has room for wear. The lock engages solidly, and there's no wobble in the blade.

Even with the holiday shutdown for inventory, it came back in a timely manner. A big thanks to Joe and Buck Knives!